Converts - Values

May peace and tranquility be with all who follow God's guidance,

You have reached a stage in your life where you have discovered the reality of our existence - that we are the servants of the Most Merciful, God, Glorified and Exalted is He. He created us all and brought us into this life, thinking, reflecting and communicating with one another. He has given us the opportunity to come towards Him and develop our relationship with Him, to perform righteous deeds so that by our mercy to others we may feel a taste of God's infinite mercy upon all of us. He did not create us and abandon us to be left in chaos and confusion. God Almighty, the Creator and Sustainer, revealed the following in the Holy Qur'an:

23:115-116. Did you think that We had created you in sport without any purpose, and that you would not be brought back to Us? Glorified is God, the Sovereign, the Truth! There is none worthy of worship except Him, Lord of the Noble Throne.

Instead, He has given us a clear purpose and out of His mercy He has continually sent messengers to guide us back to that lofty standard of devotion to Him alone. Our devotion to Him is the only means by which we can finally bring peace and tranquility into our hearts and reach a higher level of understanding. Submission to God liberates the soul and elevates one beyond the state of those who are lost in worldly affairs, heedless of the reality of our short time in this world.

Eventually, all of us will leave this world. Death will catch each and every single person. And as our bodies are returned to the soil the only thing we will take with us into the next life is our faith and submission to God.
What did we do with our life? What did we do with the infinite opportunities God provided us with? Did we use it to strengthen our connection with Him and bring peace into our lives and the lives of others? Or did we fall prey to the whisperings of evil and deviate from the path of truth, the path of guidance? As human beings we must come to the realization that underscores everything in life:

6:162-163. Say: Verily, my prayers, my sacrifice, my life and my death are for Allah, Lord of the Universe. He has no partner. And to this have I been bidden and I am amongst the first of those who bow to His will.

Are we prepared to submit ourselves to to the will of Our Merciful Creator? Or will we fall prey to hesitation and indecision on the most clear of matters? How can anyone hesitate over accepting the path of submission to God? Was this not the path of all the righteous prophets who came to guide mankind? Abraham, Noah, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad (peace be upon them all) all had the same message.

2:130-131. And who turns away from the path of Abraham except one who befools himself? Truly, We chose him in this world and verily, in the Hereafter he will be among the righteous. When his Lord said to him, "Submit ." He said, "I have submitted myself to the Lord of the Universe.

"submit" in this verse stems from the same word as Islam (submission). Islam is the natural way of all human beings: we have a natural propensity to turn to Our Creator - that is the only way to bring true peace into our souls. This is our natural inclination but we surpress it with cultural attitudes, material desires, societal pressures, and irrational doubts. Push past that and begin the up-hill climb towards God:

90:4-17 We certainly have created man in a state of constant toil. Does he think that no one has power over him? He says boastfully: “I have spent wealth in abundance.” Does he think that no one sees him?
Have We not given him two eyes, and a tongue and two lips and pointed out to him the two conspicuous ways? But he attempts not the uphill climb; and what will make you comprehend the uphill climb? [It is] to free a slave, or to feed in a day of hunger an orphan nearly related, or the poor one lying in the dust. Then he is of those who believe and exhort one another to patience and exhort one another to mercy.

Dear sister, we invite you to accept Islam, accept the way of eternal submission to the One Lord who created all things. We invite you to join a family of 1.6 billion who worship God around the globe, praying to Him, bowing and prostrating before Him. Not a second goes by but there is someone in the world crying to God in prayer, experiencing the strength of God's love and compassion. We invite you to follow this path, the path of all the prophets of God and to abandon the way of those who cling to irrational doubts. Islam is the natural path, the way of reason and understanding. There are over 750 verses in the Qur'an which call upon people to reflect, contemplate, and ponder. Reflect on our lives and you will realize that we did not arise without purpose.

Islam is the way of balance and moderation in all aspects. It recognizes the rights and responsibilites of everyone and never places the burden on one side. The Prophet said: 'None but a noble man treats women in an honorable manner, and none but an ignoble treats women disgracefully.' (Sunan At-Tirmidh&#238. Ask whatever questions you wish, and you will find the answers. Every issue you have mentioned is from the common misunderstandings westerners have about Islam, and by the grace of Allah swt, we have rational sound answers to every single one of them. Islam encourages you to ask and learn, and there will be much opportunity for you to do this as a new muslim. The Prophet said: 'The cure for ignorance is to question.' (Sunan Abî Dawûd).

Contemplate the life of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and you will see a man who called upon others to follow the way of God, for which he was rejected by his people, persecuted and driven out of his home along with his followers. He was a man who rejected the material pleasures of this world and gained nothing from his divine mission except the pleasure and reward of God. Why did he go through all this suffering? For what purpose? It was because He was the mssenger of God and intended to fulfill his duty, which he did. Through God's message, he elevated mankind above the paucity of enslavement to worldly affairs and material desires to the liberating way of submission to God alone. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) taught us: 'Wealth does not come from having great riches; (true) wealth is contentment of the soul.' (Sahîh Bukhârî, Sahîh Muslim).
And he also said: 'The similitude of the one who contemplates his Lord versus the one who does not is that of the living versus the dead.' (Sahîh Bukhârî, Sahîh Muslim).

Awaken your soul to the contemplation of your Lord. It is not something difficult; it is very easy. Make the following declaration with sincerity to God:

"I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except God, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His final messenger."

Take this declaration in your hand and heart and live by it. You can do it. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: 'The religion (of Islam) is easy. No one ever made it difficult without it becoming too much for him. So avoid extremes and strike a balance, do the best you can and be cheerful, and seek Allah's help (through prayer) in the morning, and evening, and part of the night.' (Sahîh Bukhâr&#238

"I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except God, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His final messenger."

Just copy those same words and repeat them and you have done it. You have come to the way of God.

Peace be with you, dear sister in Islam.